The 191st Manchester derby will kick off at the unusual time of 3:30pm on Sunday afternoon.
Manchester United face their bitter rivals Manchester City at Old Trafford in their first meeting since the FA Cup final, and unsurprisingly, it was moved for TV coverage. United have won their last two Premier League matches and are starting to motor up the table, while City’s 2-1 win over Brighton was their first top-flight success in three.
But, instead of kicking off at the normal 4:30pm slot on Sky Sports, the game has been moved forward an hour following an agreement between the two clubs. After the match was moved to a new date and time of 3:30, United released a statement on their club website and explained they had been in consultation with local authorities.
“The unusual start time was agreed following consultation between the clubs, the broadcaster and local authorities,” it read. West Ham’s home game against Everton has therefore been moved forward to be shown live on Sky Sports at 1pm, with a further three fixtures still kicking off at 2pm, including Nottingham Forest’s trip to Liverpool and Aston Villa’s clash with Luton.
The FA Cup final was also moved to an earlier kick-off time back in May over police concerns. It is believed the Premier League are facing a growing reluctance from forces to cover games between fierce rivals later in the day.
Manchester City’s upcoming clash with Liverpool has already been moved to a lunchtime kick-off despite Sky wanting to show it on their Saturday evening slot.
United won this fixture 2-1 last season thanks to goals from Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford. Meanwhile, Phil Foden and Erling Haaland struck a hat-trick each in the 6-3 reverse at the Etihad Stadium, while Ilkay Gundogan struck a brace as Pep Guardiola’s side came out on top in the FA Cup final.
This is United’s sixth Premier League fixture so far this season which has been moved for TV. The only three games that have stayed in the traditional Saturday 3pm slot is home matches against Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace Brentford. The Red Devils’ next league outing – a trip to Fulham – has also been altered for TNT Sports’ coverage on Saturday, November 4 at 12:30pm.
